Brewers at Pirates
Road woes have hindered the Milwaukee Brewers of late but they hope to take advantage of a struggling Pirates team in Pittsburgh as the National League Central rivals meet for the first of three games Monday. A three-game sweep at the Chicago Cubs over the weekend gave the Brewers a 1-5 mark on their current nine-game road trip and a 6-14 record away from home since mid-June.
The rocky stretch has them four games behind the Cubs in the division, matching the club's largest deficit of the season. Jordan Lyles returns to Pittsburgh a week after the Pirates traded him to Milwaukee and will face his former team in his second start for the Brewers. Rookie Dario Agrazal will go for Pittsburgh, which is 2-12 over its last 14 games after suffering a 13-2 drubbing at the hands of the New York Mets on Sunday. Slugger Josh Bell went 0-for-2 in the loss while extending his homerless stretch to 23 games.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee), AT&T SportsNet (Pittsburgh)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers RH Jordan Lyles (6-7, 5.15 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Dario Agrazal (2-2, 3.65)
Lyles had a solid debut with Milwaukee on Wednesday in Oakland, limiting the Athletics to one run and three hits in five innings. He gave up at least three runs in eight of his final nine appearances with the Pirates as his ERA rose from 1.97 to 5.36. The 28-year-old is 1-5 with a 6.99 ERA in 13 games (eight starts) versus Pittsburgh and has a 6.40 mark in his career at PNC Park.
Agrazal had the shortest start of his young career with 3 2/3 innings of three-run ball at Cincinnati on Wednesday. He has allowed five home runs over his last two outings after surrendering just three through his first five career appearances. The Panama native had a recent string of four straight quality starts, including a win over the Brewers on July 6 in which he let up two runs in six frames.
WALK-OFFS
1. Bell's last home run was a three-run shot against Milwaukee on July 5.
2. Brewers RF Christian Yelich set a career high with his 37th homer Sunday.
3. Milwaukee has won nine of the first 13 meetings this year.